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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - While the number of people in South Carolina who are unemployed remained virtually unchanged in May, officials with South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce say they’re seeing the highest number of job openings posted online in recorded history.
SCDEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey says when looking at May’s employment situation, both the number of people unemployed and the unemployment rate are virtually the same as April. About 79,000 people in the state were unemployed, and the unemployment rate is about 3.3 percent for May, Ellzey said.
The estimated number of South Carolinians working jumped to more than 2.3 million, which is more than 9,400 more than last month and more than 55,000 more than this time last year.
Ellzey says the state now has more than 114,000 postings on SC Works Online Services, which is the most in recorded history.
He said the state’s labor force, which includes working and unemployed people looking for work, increased by 9,400 to more than 2.4 million in May. That’s more than 26,000 more compared to May of 2021.
Industries that reported gains in May were leisure and hospitality, manufacturing and education and health services.
Ellzey said the state has 73,000 more people working now than before the pandemic.
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